Is there a dark side to 'doorbuster deals'?

Lots More Information

Author's Note: Is there a dark side to "doorbuster deals"?

When I first began researching the "dark side of doorbusters," I thought the article might focus on Black Friday-related violence -- the trampling death of a Wal-Mart worker in 2008 is not something easily forgotten. But what I found was a much more common dark side, one related to retail practices in general. Plenty of media outlets have the shopping-related violence angle (good grief, shopping-related violence) covered; and in reality, these incidents, while shocking, are not regular occurrences. The borderline bait-and-switch practices involved in many "doorbuster deals," however, are pretty likely to be encountered by the average consumer. (And wow, the licensing of brand names to "no name" manufacturers so they can put "Philips" and "JVC" on their inferior products was news to me.) So that's where I went. If any of this was news to you, too, and this information inspires an increase in pre-Black Friday research (and maybe the donning of sunglasses in case of some lunatic is carrying pepper spray), I consider this piece a success.